There were new 2025 Absa Cape Epic faces on Saturday’s top step, with Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas dominant from start to finish on Stage 6 of the Aramex UCI Women’s Category in the Western Cape on Saturday, 22 March, 2025.
After showing their threat during the previous day’s second-placed stage, the Colombian and Dutch team pulled away from the women’s field midway through the 88km stage and never looked back, finishing six minutes and 40 seconds ahead of overall leaders Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Toyota | Specialized).
The Cannondale ISB Sport stage victory did no damage to Toyota | Specialized’s overall lead, with Langvad and Gomez Villafane still managing to stretch their lead in the Aramex UCI Women’s Category to just over 23 minutes over Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda (Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam) with a single stage to go.
Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas built on their impressive Stage 5 performance. They took the racing to the women’s field as soon as riders filed out of Lourensford Wine Estate. For the first time this week, overall leaders Toyota | Specialized couldn’t respond.
“Yesterday we felt good, but today we felt even better. We planned to push the pace from the start and then see what happens. We didn’t know if we could hold it, but we just kept going. We had absolutely no issues out there and it felt like we were flying.”
2025 Absa Cape Epic Stage 5 Champion, the Netherlands’ Tessa Kortekaas
Kortekaas admitted that things haven’t gone to plan for the team at this year’s Absa Cape Epic, but they hope to make up for the slow start to the 2025 Absa Cape Epic with a solid finish.
“It’s been a difficult week. We came out here with a plan to make the general classification riding a bit more exciting, but we struggled early in the week. We know that when we feel good we can be competitive, and we are showing that in the racing now.”
Five-time Aramex UCI Women’s Category winner Annika Langvad was full of praise for the stage winners, admitting at the same time that she battled in the conditions.
“Monica and Tessa were so strong. They fully deserved that stage win because they worked super hard from start to finish. I was dying a million deaths out there today. The ground was so sticky. It was a nightmare. At one stage I was trying to decide what was worse, riding in that mud or giving birth…”
2025 Absa Cape Epic Aramex UCI Women’s Category Stage 6 Race Results
1. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 4:47:57
2. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 4:54:37 (+6:40)
3. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 4:55:33 (+7:36)
4. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 4:59:23 (+11:26)
5. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 5:03:20 (+15:23)
Stage 5 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 5:23:38
2. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 5:23:50 (+12)
3. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 5:31:18 (+7:40)
4. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 5:31:19 (+7:41)
5. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 5:34:20 (+10:42)
Stage 4 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 3:50:45
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 3:51:35 (+50)
3. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 3:52:14 (+1:29)
4. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 3:57:27 (+6:42)
5. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 3:58:11 (+7:26)
Stage 3 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 4:14:53
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 4:19:30 (+4:37)
3. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 4:21:58 (+7:05)
4. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 4:29:04 (+14:11)
5. Haley Smith and Ella Bloor – (MAAP) – 4:29:56 (+15:03)
Stage 2 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 2:43:14
2. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 2:45:23
3. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 2:45:38
4. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 2:47:26
5. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 2:48:25
Stage 1 Results
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 4:43:35
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 4:49:17
3. Rosa van Doorn and Janina Wüst – Buff Megamo – 4:51:37
4. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport – 4:53:41
5. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 4:55:02
Aramex UCI Women’s Category General Classification
1. Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane – Toyota | Specialized – 27:03:38
2. Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda – Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam – 27:26:41 (+23:26)
3. Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen – TitanRacing SE Honeycomb – 27:43:11 (+39:56)
4. Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas – Cannondale ISB Sport- 27:48:38 (+45:23)
5. Katazina Sosna-Pinele and Claudia Peretti – Torpado Kenda FSA WMN – 28:09:18 (+1:06:03)
Original Copy: Absa Cape Epic, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: There were new 2025 Absa Cape Epic faces on Saturday’s top step, with Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas dominant from start to finish on Stage 6 of the Aramex UCI Women’s Category in the Western Cape on Saturday, 22 March, 2025. Photo: Dom Barnardt /Cape Epic
Photo 2 Caption: The GC leaders Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane are far in the lead, with the 2025 title in sights. Photo: Michael Chiaretta /Cape Epic
Photo 3 Caption: SA’s leading team Hayley Preen (front) and Bianca Haw missed out on a fifth podium, but remain in third in the GC. Photo: Michael Chiaretta /Cape Epic
Photo 4 Caption: The Cape Epic Stage 6 podium of (from left) Annika Langvad and Sofia Gomez Villafane (Toyota | Specialized), stage winners Monica Yuliana Calderon Martinez and Tessa Kortekaas (Cannondale ISB Sport), and Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda (Efficient Infiniti SCB SRam). Photo: Michael Chiaretta /Cape Epic
